Chocolate Limes Cheesecake Sorta...Inspired by Nigella

You can see I am in the mood to cook...Nigella Bites - my fav - Trash Chapter - buy it now!  I have made so many recipes from this book.  The Chocolate pots are just THE BEST. 

I made this today for the sheer heck of it.  I may or may not take it into work for the poor schleps who have to work a Friday...

Blitz 200g of organic raw sugar with the zest of two limes, set aside.

I used 200g chocolate biscuits (Arnott's) and whizzed them on speed 9 for about 6 seconds - I like a fine crumb.  I added 80g of chopped butter (soft, room temp, home made) and pulsed on turbo about 6 times.  Check and see if it is damp without yellow blobs.  I mixed a handful of white choc chips through this too.  Why?  Why not?

Tip this into a 20 cm spring-form pan and press down. I use the bottom of a very flat drinking glass - I think it used to have Nutella in it.  Pop in the fridge to set while you mess about with the filling.

Now dear Thermo addicts - you could do this in Thermie but I had dinner cooking in it so I used my almost as beloved Kitchen Aid mixer.

Cream two packs of Philly cream cheese until and white and softly fluffy.

With the paddle still mixing on low, add 200g of raw organic sugar/lime zest and keep mixing.

Then add four eggs and two yolks - I used 'real eggs' from a friend and they are an amazing colour.

Use the juice of really good juicy limes - 4 of them.  Also from some 'random at work' - who were you?  I also added a tbs of Triple Sec...1 for me, 1 for the cake.

*Thermie instructions (play about but this what I would do) - mix cheese on speed 5 for about 20 seconds, scrape down, check and go again.  Add lime/sugar and go again, check after 15 secs.  Insert butterfly and  mix on speed 2 adding eggs through the hole then juice for about 20-30 seconds more.  You may need to scrape and fiddle about.  Add your thoughts in comments.  I would have juice, Triple Sec and eggs ready in little bowls.

Pour this amazing, golden custard into the spring-form pan over the chocolate base.  I double wrap the outside of the pan in two layers of alfoil.  Put the pan in a baking dish and then pour boiling water into the baking dish until it comes about half way up the side.  See my new kettle in the photo above - beaut isn't it?

Bake on 180c for 1 hour.  It's quite wibbly when you take it out but nicely golden. Pop in the fridge to set and cool.  I dust mine with actual chocolate lime sweets from an international lolly shop that I have pulverised on speed 10 in thermie.  It adds a nice glinty, sugary yumminess.  The beauty of them being a little stale from shipping is that they blitz well.  I may - drizzle with melted dark choc...hmmm...

Thoughts?

I HEART Nigella,
ThermoMINX